Improved chair-seat



tnittd gaat i BENJAMIN r. WRIGHT, or on ARLESTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS.

Lette-rs Patent N. 104,243, dated June 14, 1870` nvIPnovED CHAIR-SEAT.

Mpg- The Schedule referred to-ln these Letters' Patent and making part of the same.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN vli. WRIGHT, of Charlestown, in theI Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Seats for Chairs; and I-do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescriptionof the same.

. It is well known that avery common, if not universal method of bottoming or furnishing seats to chairs, not made entirely of wood orfupholstered, is to employ narrow strips of cane or bamboo, which are intel-woven o1'- crossed so as to `leave narrow spaces between the several strips, thus forming a tolerabl y strong and somewhat elastic seat. The principal objection to this seat is, however, the faetthat it is not durable. The cane is aptto crack and break,-and in a comparatively' short time the seat isleutirely worthless, andthechair containing it must be reseatedor thrown away.

The nature of my vinvention consistsY in providing a substitute for the seat formed of cane above referred to, which shall possess all the goodqnalities of cane, such as flexibility, elasticity, and strength, to an equal .if not superior extent, and at the same time be greatly superior to it inthe very desirable respect of durability. I nse for this purpose 'rawhide of any animal of any suitable thickness, but I would recommend a thickness of one thirty-second of an inch. The bide, ofcourse, must be so far cured as to befree from any danger ot' decomposition, and from all difensive odor. The hide may also be slightly tanned, andwill still be useful for the purposesof my invention, but it must not be curried, as it will then be useless for my purposes. y l

To adapt the hide or uncurried leather to the purposs for which I design it, I apply it inthe following m0 e:

I strip up rawhide or uncurried leather in narrow strips of about one-eighth of an inch inwidth. These strips I interweave, or cross in the same way as strips of cane are now applied to bottoms of chairs, so as to present the same general appearance, that is to say, a checker work of small open spaces ofabout one-eighth Vof an inch over the 4bottom of the chair, separated f 'f from each other by the successive strips of bide. The mode of applying these strips is that ordinarily used in applying cane to the bottom of chairs, and as it is an art very well known, will not require any particular description.

Bottoms of chairs made asI above have -`all the strength elasticity, and flexibility Vpossessed by cane, and can also be as easily applied. They are also cheapeg than cane Vat'the present prices, and, in` par# ticular, and this I consider the principal, although by no means the only merit of my invention, I claim for chair-bottoms constructedaccording to my invention, -very much superior durability over cane, or any sub-A stance now in use for the same purpose, except metal, so far as I am informed. These bottoms can be colored fo any desired color, or,'if thought desirab1e,rcan he made to receive a polish.V

I have described the application of my invention to chairbottoms, but Iv do not intend to coniine myself to chair-bottoms onlyin its application, as the same thing as above described maybe applied in the method above shown, 01 analogous methodsto the seats or bottoms of lounges. to bedsteads, and for other similar uses. vNeither do I intend--toconne lmyself to any particular pattern or kind of weaving ot' the strips above referred to. They may be interwoven or arranged in any pattern that may be thought desirable,

as illustrated "Witnesses:

WILLIAM T. Guin', lnARLns C. DREW.

but I recommend the pattern and mode of interweavparticular 

